An impressive come-from-behind win in the New World Otaki Handicap (1600m) on Boxing Day was the first New Zealand appearance in almost five years for Sword In Stone, a multiple Group One placegetter in Hong Kong who clearly has plenty more to offer back in his homeland.
The son of Redwood began his career in Cambridge with Lauren Brennan, for whom he was a winner and a Gr.2 Waikato Guineas (2000m) placegetter from three starts between December 2018 and February 2019.
He was later sold to Hong Kong, where he raced under the name Columbus County. He won twice and placed in the Gr.1 Hong Kong Vase (2400m) in 2020 and the Gr.1 Champions & Chater Cup (2400m) in 2021. His five seasons in Hong Kong banked a total of HK$13.79 million (NZ$3.15 million).
The nine-year-old is now back in New Zealand and in the stable of Kevin and Stephen Gray, having been bought by the latter for $33,000 as a yearling at Karaka in 2017.
The open handicap at Otaki on Boxing Day was Sword In Stone’s first appearance from his new quarters, and he defied $43 odds to launch a withering finish from third-last. He ran home over the top of Chase, pulling ahead in the closing stages to win by a length and a quarter. Times Ticking was another three-quarters of a length away in third.
Sword In Stone was ridden by apprentice jockey Toni Davies, whose 3kg claim reduced his impost to just 51kg.
“That was great,” said Stephen Gray, who also now shares ownership of Sword In Stone with his wife Bridget. “I was rapt to see him produce a performance like that first-up over the mile. We’d given him a good preparation, we were happy with him coming into the race, and his class really came through.
“He was a Group One horse in Hong Kong. It just started getting a bit tough up there for him in recent times. He’s a real stayer and there weren’t a lot of suitable options around for him.
“In the end, Caspar Fownes (trainer) sent him back down to us to see what we could do. If he happened to come up well, we could try to win some races for him, and otherwise we’d find him a good home.
“I told Toni to just take him back today, give him time to find his feet and see if he can find the line. I’m over the moon with that result.
“The further he goes, the better he’ll be. He’s reasonably well placed in the handicaps here, so we’ll pick out some nice staying races to have a go at with him through the rest of this campaign.”
Gray has taken special satisfaction from his winning reunion with his former yearling purchase.
“Garry Carvell and I bought him as a yearling, and I sold him to one of my best owners, Paul Hickman, who I tried 98 winners for in Singapore,” he said. “We bought the horse for races like the Singapore Gold Cup (2000m) and Derby (1800m).
“Lauren Brennan did all the pre-training and told us we had a pretty nice prospect, so we tried to get him to the New Zealand Derby (Gr.1, 2400m). He had some good form, including a placing in the Waikato Guineas, but ended up missing the field for the Derby. Hong Kong came calling after that, and that’s where he ended up.
“So now he’s done a bit of a circle, but he’s come to me this time instead of going back to Lauren. He’s a quirky horse and took a little while to settle in, but he seems to be away now. It’s great.”
There was a scare immediately after the finish line in Thursday’s race as Times Ticking and Beavertown Boy dislodged their jockeys, Jim Chung and Lily Sutherland. Both sets of horses and riders escaped injury. The incident was caused by Times Ticking slipping on a patch of grass out wide on the track, prompting an inspection of the racing surface. Riders later reached a unanimous decision to continue with the final two races of the meeting.
Sword In Stone’s heroics headlined a winning double at Otaki on Boxing Day for the Grays, who also won the Harcourts Otaki Handicap (1200m) with Discovery Bay. Meanwhile, Stephen Gray’s former Singapore star Hard Too Think made an eye-catching late run for sixth in the Cavallo Farm & Chris Rutten Bloodstock Handicap (1400m). The son of All Too Hard won six races and more than $1.3 million in Singapore, headed by the Singapore Derby and Singapore Gold Cup in 2021.
“We had a good day,” Gray said. “We’re chipping away. It’s a bit of an adjustment, coming back here and bringing in some new ideas alongside what Dad already had in place, but the horses are going well and I’m happy.
“Hard Too Think ran a fantastic race too. He’s a very good horse who lost his form in Singapore, and scans later revealed he had kissing spine and needed to undergo surgery. So I’m delighted with that first-up performance, and he would have been right in the finish if the race had been a mile. Marc Lerner rode him to some of his best wins in Singapore and was in the saddle again today, and he was thrilled with how the horse felt. “Hard Too Think and Sword In Stone are very good old horses. It’s very rewarding to be able to bring them back into form like this.”
